The Prince's Bride
by Diary-chan
Summary: Nana has always dreamed of marrying a prince and living a glamorous, leisurely life. But surely not Husky. He's cruel and cold and stubborn, and he hates girls. Oneshot drabble, Nana/Husky.


A/N: Hey guys, my first +Anima fic; I just couldn't focus on my NaNo anymore, lol. A oneshot drabble about Nana and her dream of marrying a prince or rich man one day. Nana/Husky, don't like, don't read. Please read and review!

**_The Prince's Bride_**

_I'm going to marry a rich prince someday._

Nana had spouted this nonsense again and again. Cooro always managed to smile and give her a thumbs-up, completely supportive of her exclamations. Senri, being Senri, said nothing and always gave her one of those blank, unassuming stares. In fact, had it not been for Husky and his caustic cruelty, Nana might have actually fooled herself into believing such a thing without a spec of doubt.

She couldn't really help believing in the little glimmer of hope – far-fetched indeed, but it happened in fairytales, right? And weren't fairytales each fashioned out of their own shred of truth? Nana had wanted to marry money ever since she knew the value of such a thing: watching her father come home drunk, beat her and her mother, and squander away all of their earnings. She thought, _This isn't going to happen to me. I'll marry a man who's so rich he doesn't need to drink or hurt or worry about anything. I'll live in peace and luxury and glamor, I'll never go hungry again, I'll lead an honest life…_

It was a sparkly future to behold, true enough… but when the dazzling glamor faded, it left a sense of desolation. After all, what prince, what wealthy man would want _Nana_? Nana, a bat who was afraid of the dark; Nana, who incapacitated people with a shrill squeak; Nana, with her ugly +Anima mark and her morbid wings and tacky ears; Nana who was talkative and annoying and materialistic, like Husky always said.

And when these thoughts entered her head, she sighed and wilted, like the flowers Senri pressed into his book. She drooped under the weight of coping with these lapses of confidence; but all she had to do was look at Cooro's encouraging grin, Senri's bemused, satiated expression, or Husky's grudgingly congratulate frown. Any one of the three made her spirits soar, high in the sky as her wings carried her.

With their quiet tolerance of Nana's dream, it grew and prospered; she sighed longingly at pretty dresses in stalls, her eyes followed young well-to-do bachelors, she kept an eye out for leisurely jobs. Sometimes she daydreamed about Astaria's prince, whoever he was, venturing among the commonfolk to find a bride; and she would be there, shining with a beautiful glow even through her secondhand clothing, and he would see her and know she was _the one_ and sweep her away to his castle to be a princess.

Of course, there were other princes to be thinking about, too. Sairando had a whole slew of princes, but she grimaced at the thought. Weren't they all shallow, cruel rivals? And the princesses and queens – weren't they even cattier? Wasn't that Husky's reasoning behind his apparent dislike of girls?

And then there was Husky. He was a prince, wasn't he? If he ever went back to Sairando, he would have a waiting place as Myrrh, the long-lost prince. Would he take the place of Keane in line for the throne? Nana wondered. She cast a glance towards the silver-haired, blue-eyed boy. _Well…_ she admitted with a blush, _it would be preferable that my prince be handsome, too… and… Husky is beautiful…_

She frowned, shook her head. _Husky doesn't like girls,_ she thought with more disappointment than she had anticipated. _Why would I want to marry Husky, anyway? He's stubborn and mean and angry and just a no-good person._ Though it was an outright lie, it soothed the rejection that burned in Nana's throat every time Husky repeated his hatred of girls.

When would he grow up? she wondered. _I know he's not a girl, and I know he's not… well… he doesn't like, um, boys._ She shuddered, blushing. _That_ had certainly turned out as an awkward conversation. Nana was fairly sure that Husky didn't mind her too much – contrary to what he said – and he'd even held her hand on more than one occasion, though it only lasted if she completely ignored such a thing. Mixed signals! Ugh!

If she knew that Husky didn't mean what he said, why did it sting so when he huffed, _"I hate girls!"_ as if they were some plague? Perhaps it was because Nana was used to speaking her mind; even when others didn't do so, she had a hard time believing that they were lying. Oh, she was just as naïve as Cooro!

Frustrated, Nana crossed her arms, basket bumping against her hip.

She'd been thinking and walking, never a good combination. It was a wonder that she hadn't tripped y-

"Uwah!" she cried, going down. So much for that.

"Nana!" exclaimed Cooro.

Blanching on the ground, she sat up and rubbed at her skinned knee. Sometimes her dresses were a pain, but Nana could never bear to wear something less feminine. "I'm fine," she said quietly, frustration lingering on her face.

"You look mad…" Cooro said with a frown. Senri mimicked the sentiment, tilting his head in a silent question.

"I'm fine," she insisted. She glanced at Husky, who hadn't said a thing; she was startled to see the quickly-covered remnants of concern evident on his face. Instantly, her knit eyebrows separated in surprise. _I was so concentrated on Husky hating girls…_

"If she says she's fine, she's fine," huffed Husky. Without warning, he grabbed her hand and hoisted her to her feet. "Now come on; we have to get going. Margaret and Harden are waiting."

Nana gave him a sly smile – but quickly wiped it off her face, afraid of his reaction. Instead, she drew as little attention as possible to his hand, still loosely holding hers, and picked up the covered basket she'd dropped in the fall.

"Husky's right," she said with a smile. "Let's go."

She was in a sunny mood that no one else could figure out, all the way back to Margaret and Harden's home. Only Nana knew why the happiness permeated.

Husky didn't let go of her hand.

_I really am going to marry a prince,_ she thought all the way back. _Just you wait._


End file.
